


To Heal And Replace

by Who_the_hell_is_Tre_Cool



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - We Happy Few (Game), Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26646985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Who_the_hell_is_Tre_Cool/pseuds/Who_the_hell_is_Tre_Cool
Summary: 'Technically, Michael is a downer. He’s off his Joy, has been for months. But he says he wants to feel things, wants to know who he is as a person and be in control of his own emotions and remember, he want to remember. He doesn’t suffer withdrawal like the other downers. He’s perfectly lucid, thank you very much. Besides, he says he doesn’t need his Joy. Ashton is his Joy.'
Relationships: Michael Clifford/Ashton Irwin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	To Heal And Replace

**Author's Note:**

> Suffering writers block recently so I thought I'd write a super niche au just to get the writing brain going. 
> 
> This can be enjoyed without knowledge of the game. A quick glance at the wiki might be helpful but tbh you don't even need that.

###

The candle light flickers, casting strange shadows around the dilapidated house Ashton and Michael call home. The floor is bare, wood worn smooth with age. The furniture is covered in a thick layer of dust, and half the second floor is missing, along with the roof. But there’s plenty of blankets and some old tinned food, and a stash of firewood to last at least a couple of months.

Ashton sits on the floor in front of the gently smoldering fire, knees drawn up to his chest, waiting. Michael had gone out earlier, said he would be back by sundown, but he hasn’t returned yet. He knows Michael is more than capable of looking after himself, but he still worries. The trip was a necessity, going into town to get supplies. Winter is fast approaching, and they need to be able to protect themselves from the downers who live around them, who think they’re the same as them.

Michael and Ashton aren’t the same as the downers, but it’s the only place they can live without getting into trouble.

Technically, Michael is a downer. He’s off his Joy, has been for months. But he says he wants to feel things, wants to know who he is as a person and be in control of his own emotions and remember, he want to _remember_. He doesn’t suffer withdrawal like the other downers. He’s perfectly lucid, thank you very much. Besides, he says he doesn’t need his Joy. Ashton is his Joy.

Ashton is a scientific anomaly and he hates it. He doesn’t want to spend half of his life locked away in a lab while old men in white coats take blood samples and measure his brain activity, trying to work out how he does it, how he controls his own Joy.

He’s never had to take the stupid pills, never been picked up by the sensors for not taking the stupid pills. He just exists, and for some reason that’s enough. Yeah, he feels his own emotions. In fact, he feels them more than other people, because they’re not regulated by the pills. Despite this, he still can’t _remember_. He never remembers.

Ashton knows of one other pair like him and Michael, but they’ve managed to fly under the radar. That’s who Michael’s visiting. Calum and Luke. They live on the outskirts of Wellington Wells, in an area that was barely rebuilt after the War. It’s not as dilapidated as the areas left to the downers, but it’s certainly nothing like the town centre. It’s cheap rent and ignored by the bobby’s, and if Ashton and Michael weren’t so high profile then they’d probably try and live there.

He runs his finger through the dust on the floor, mindlessly doodling hearts and flowers and bones, startling when he hears a crash from outside, followed by the creak of the door opening. He reaches for the knife he keeps in his pocket, because some of the downers will do anything for food that isn’t rotten, but then there’s a voice.

“It’s just me,” Michael says, tugging the door shut and wandering over. He dumps his bag in the corner and drops to the floor next to Ashton, tucking his face into the crook of his neck, just breathing him in.

Ashton lets him, knowing Michael needs this touch when they’ve been apart for more than a few hours. He doesn’t mention that he needs it himself, but he thinks Michael probably already knows. It’s a dangerous sort of dependency to have, relying on each other so heavily. There are plenty of people in the wastes and from the towns who’d want to use it against them. But they’ve survived this long, and Ashton wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Michael shifts a little, and Ashton gently nudges him back, bringing a hand to his jaw to inspect him for injury or any signs of pain.

“I’m fine Ash, I promise,” Michael murmurs, but doesn’t fight when Ashton checks him over anyway. He knows Ashton worries about him.

“You know I like to check,” Ashton says softly, and Michael kisses his nose.

“I know. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

Ashton feels his cheeks heat, and ducks his head slightly. Even after all this time, he get’s flustered when Michael professes his love, and how easily he does it.

Instead of responding, he changes the subject. “What’d you get?”

Michael let’s him, doesn’t call him out for it. He just gets up and fetches the bag, hurrying back to Ashton’s side.

“Got some scraps to use for starting the fire if the wood gets damp, a new lighter too. Luke bought some winter coats for us too, although he was worried they wouldn’t be the right size,” Michael pulls things out the bag as he talks.

Ashton hums, “Did you tell him that it doesn’t matter, he’s done enough for us anyway?”

“Of course,” Michael rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling fondly, “He still worries though. He asked if we wanted to come stay with them over the winter, but I said we couldn’t, it’d be too dangerous.”

It’s the sad truth of their lives now. They’re stuck out in the wastes until something changes. And while people aren’t likely to suddenly stop relying on Joy, and neither of them want to be arrested, things aren’t going to change.

He leans into Michael’s side, grateful for his warmth, not really paying attention as he rambles on about the blankets Calum found, and all the news and gossip he’d told him. He just likes listening to the sound of Michael’s voice, feeling the tremors from where he’s resting his head on his shoulder, slowly falling to his chest as he nods off.

“You didn’t have to wait up for me you know,” Michael said softly, laughter evident in his voice.

Ashton grumbled, “You know I want to. I can’t sleep when you’re not here.”

“Well I’m here now,” Michael’s arm wraps around his waist, hoisting him to his feet. He whines softly, but opens his eyes blearily, grabbing a few of the blankets. Michael leads him up the stairs, to the only surviving bedroom.

It clearly used to be a child’s room, with building blocks and tattered toys still sprawled over the floor. The window is broken, but the roof is still intact, as is the floor and all the walls. Even the door survived, although it doesn’t shut. The whole house is slightly wonky. They’d nailed an old sheet over the broken window when they first claimed the house, and the room was perfect.

The bed frame was just barely big enough for the two of them, as long as they curled up close and didn’t want to extend their legs, and the mattress was dirty but usable. Michael piles on the new blankets, and Ashton instantly crawls under them, snuggling down. It’s already pretty toasty, without Michael’s added heat, giving Ashton hope that they’ll be able to survive the winter.

Michael clambers in beside him, arm instantly coming around Ashton’s waist and tugging him close, tucked into his chest. Ashton makes a sleepy pleased noise, wrapping his own arms around Michael.

They fall asleep like that, curled up together. No need for artificial Joy when they have each other.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, comments are appreciated (I may expand this into something longer, but I have no intentions of doing that any time soon, so for now this will remain a oneshot).
> 
> Find me on tumblr @mastasof-ravenkroft


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